It’s been a rough season for the majority of the NFC North and Week 8 was much of the same. All but one team in the division lost their matchup on Sunday and the lone victor just happened to be the division leaders.
The Minnesota Vikings continued to pull away in the standings and in the power rankings, defeating the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions all dropped their games to stay stuck in their respective places.
It’s clearly a one-team race now, with the Vikings on top, but here’s how the rest of the division looks in this week’s power rankings.
1
Minnesota Vikings (6-1)
- Last week’s ranking: No. 1
- Week 8 result: 34-26 win vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Vikings came off their bye looking close to the same team we have seen all season. They were able to score with ease against the Cardinals, but struggled at times to put the game away and things got closer than they needed to be. Still, they’re collecting victories and distancing themselves from the pack (no pun intended) halfway through the season. They’re not a perfect team, but they’re comfortably near the top of the NFC and have a clear road ahead towards their first division title since 2017. They face a suddenly resurgent Washington Commanders team that is looking to win four games in a row this weekend.
2
Green Bay Packers (3-5)
- Last week’s ranking: No. 3
- Week 8 result: 27-17 loss at Buffalo Bills
A reeling Packers team facing off against a rested Buffalo Bills squad on the road had disaster written all over it. Fortunately for them, the result wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The Packers played the Bills close in the second half and had a spark of life after going down early, thanks to a strong rushing attack. It’s enough to get them back in the No. 2 spot of the power rankings, but they still lost and are way behind the Vikings for first place. It’s not over yet, but this season is slipping away from them more and more as each week goes by. They have a chance to stop the bleeding and get right against the lowly Lions, however.
3
Chicago Bears (3-5)
- Last week’s ranking: No. 2
- Week 8 result: 49-29 loss at Dallas Cowboys
Though the Bears offense with Justin Fields continues to get stronger as each week passes, their defense surprisingly fell apart with their worst performance of the season. The Bears allowed the Dallas Cowboys to score 49 points, the most the team has given up in eight years. To add insult to injury, they also traded away two of their best defensive players in Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn in less than a week. While those moves should pay off for the future, it only hurts the current product. With their next matchup coming against the surging Miami Dolphins, it could be another rough week.
4
Detroit Lions (1-6)
- Last week’s ranking: No. 4
- Week 8 result: 31-27 loss vs. Miami Dolphins
The Lions had a double-digit lead and wound up blowing it. Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. It’s just another loss opportunity for Detroit to capture momentum and turn that into a victory. They led the Dolphins by 10 points going into the fourth quarter, but Miami responded with two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with just 12 seconds to go in the game. There aren’t any moral victories anymore for Dan Campbell and his staff and though they are competitive, they rarely close the deal in tight games. The losses are already starting to cost coaches their jobs too as defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant was fired on Monday. It’s been a long season for Detroit and it looks like it’s not getting better anytime soon.
